Bikini and Enewetak Atolls

Image from The Washington Post

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has a specific history with the U.S. that has caused enduring consequences for the Marshallese population. For approximately 15 years, the U.S. conducted nuclear tests in both Bikini and Enewetak atolls, affecting islanders in catastrophic ways and causing lasting consequences.

In what became the Pacific Proving Grounds after WWII (1947-1962), the U.S. military began by testing the effects of thermonuclear bombs on animals, placing them on 24 ships scattered in the general vicinity of the first bomb’s detonation site (Hogue, 2021). The intention was to study how deadly gamma radiation affected the animals.

However, after seven years of conducting atmospheric atomic and thermonuclear weapons testing in Bikini and Enewetak, the U.S. escalated its agenda and began testing nuclear effects on humans (Lum & Tupuola, 2024).

Before detonating “Castle Bravo,” a hydrogen bomb 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb used on Hiroshima, the U.S. removed over 300 Marshallese from the two islands (Hogue, 2021; Lum & Tupuola, 2024). After the blast, however, radioactive ash fell on the islands for days and some 250 additional Marshallese had to be evacuated from neighboring atolls, Rongelap and Utrik (Lum & Tupuola, 2024). While the U.S. conducted research to benefit itself, the results had significantly negative effects on the population.

The ways in which the U.S. exploited the people and the environments of Bikini and Enewetak atolls is apparent. Known as Project 4.1, the U.S. aimed to study the biomedical effects of radiation on humans, using the Marshallese as nonconsensual test-subjects (Hogue, 2021). This resulted in the displacement of hundreds of Marshallese.

Furthermore, though the U.S. claimed to have conducted a complete clean-up of the islands and declared them safe to return to, residents were soon re-evacuated after studies revealed there was still an unsafe amount of radiation present (Lum & Tupuola, 2024). What is more, is that besides the forced migration, in the decades that followed, “Marshallese reported high incidents of diabetes, growth impairment in children, cancers, leukemia, indications of premature aging (such as dental decay, cataracts, degenerative osteoarthritis), as well as reproductive challenges such as miscarriages, sterility, and congenital anomalies” (Hogue, 2021, 211).

As of the latest compact renewal, there are $3 billion dollars in damages claimed by the RMI from the nuclear testing that have yet to be remunerated (Lum, 2024). Instead, the U.S. has only provided $600 million in compensation and committed to only $700 million in future trust fund distributions for damages, environmental cleanup and restoration, resettlement and health and medical programs moving forward (Lum, 2024).

Although it can seem like this damage was done long ago, the U.S. continues to exploit the islands today.

Watch a video of the first airborne hydrogen detonated bomb over Bikini Atoll here: Zero Hour at Bikini

Runit Dome

Image from International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination

Runit Dome is another example of how U.S. nuclear testing in the RMI has long-lasting effects on the already fragile islands. In the decades that followed the extensive testing conducted in the atolls, the U.S. used a test-site crater on Runit Island to dump over 25,000 tons of radioactive material during their attempted clean-up of the islands (Hogue, 2021).

The crater was then covered with a concrete roof and today, serves as a monument to the humanitarian and ecological indifference shown to the Marshallese (Hunt, 2024; Lum & Tupuola, 2024). Though reports claim it will not collapse, rising sea levels have caused water to leak into the dome, leading some to fear radioactive seepage and the contamination of groundwater (Lum & Tupuola, 2024).

To help convey the importance of the RMI’s nuclear history, the Nuclear Institute (NI) was established in 1998 to support the engagement of students in a range of community service activities and regional awareness programs through the College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) Students Nuclear Club (CMI, 2025). It has become clear with time that nuclear imperialism practiced by the U.S. after WWII has had a long-term, generational impact on many Marshallese, and the U.S. has yet to adequately compensate the affected population.

Watch this short video to see footage of Runit Dome: RUNIT

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References

College of the Marshall Islands. (2025). Academic Catalog 2025-2026. [PFD]. https://www.drivehq.com/file/DFPublishFile.aspx/FileID12537176906/Keygum5wqulavfg/Draft%20Catalog%202025-2026.pdf

Hogue, R.H. (2021). Nuclear normalizing and Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s “Dome Poem.” Amerasia Journal, 47(2), 208–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/00447471.2022.2033583

Lum, T. (2024). The Compacts of Free Association [PDF]. Congressional Research Service. https://crsreports.congress.gov

Lum, T., & Tupuola, J. G. (2024). The Freely Associated States and issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service: Report, 1–18.